


Eddie's Epiphany

by the_scarlet_01



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 3 x 10 Coda, First Kiss, M/M, episode coda, s03e10 Christmas Spirit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:21:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21662845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_scarlet_01/pseuds/the_scarlet_01
Summary: Eddie reflects on what happened at the FireFam Christmas Party and realizes something very important.Episode 3x10 Christmas Spirit Coda
Relationships: Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 11
Kudos: 444
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	Eddie's Epiphany

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd please forgive any typos.

Eddie lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t sleep. Christopher was tucked in bed and the house was quiet, but he still couldn’t sleep. He had too many thoughts going through his head. His mind stuck on the fact that his best friend had gone above and beyond to give Eddie and Christopher a Christmas gift he could never equal. Nothing Eddie could possibly think of could rival the sheer happiness Eddie had felt about getting to spend Christmas with his family, despite having to work. Buck had known how upset Christopher had been and he’d pulled out all the stops to make the boy smile. Eddie had to practically pry the toy firetruck he’d gotten from his Buck away from his sleeping son so that the he didn’t accidentally hurt himself on the hard plastic. He knew if that had happened Buck would find a way to blame himself. Eddie decided he wanted to remember the whole thing for the rest of his life, the best way to do that would be to try and remember every detail he could right now, before he could forget anything.

_The Christmas party had been an absolute shock to Eddie. He’d expected to have the worst Christmas of his life. Worse than the ones he had missed while he was overseas. No, this was Christopher’s first Christmas knowing his mother was gone forever. This was the first Christmas the boy wouldn’t have either of his parents there with him. Eddie had felt his heart shatter into pieces when his son had asked to spend Christmas with his Buck and Eddie knew it was just another disappointment in a long line of disappointments his son had faced. The look on his best friends face didn’t help either. You would have had to have been blind to not see the helpless and hopeless look on Buck’s face. Christopher’s disappointment was like a knife in the heart, but that look on Buck’s face twisted that knife, driving home Eddie’s own feelings of desperation. He knew Christopher would be his Abuela and Tia Pepa. So when Eddie walked into the loft and saw all the people he felt happy, but nothing compared to the absolute joy of seeing his son waiting for Eddie with his abuela. Eddie’s shock and joy must have been written all over his face, because the look Abuela gave him was the softest and most joy filled smiled he had seen in weeks. She worried about them so much, probably too much, but Eddie knew nothing could stop this particular Diaz matriarch from worrying about her boys._

_Eddie had been listening to Christopher talk excitedly about his day with his great grandmother. Eddie was focusing so intently on just being in the moment on Christmas with a smiling and happy Christopher he hadn’t noticed Isabel Diaz sneak away._

_“Thank you for making them so happy,” Isabel Diaz smiled fondly as she approached the man she knew her grandson and great grandson adored._

_Buck blushed, and smiled. “Well they deserved to be together for Christmas, especially after everything that has happened, I know it’s been hard since…since Shannon died.” Buck thought about everything that had happened in less than a year._

_“So have you,” She patted his arm. “You have done more for them than anyone could have asked for. You helped my Christopher find his smile again.” She gestured for him to lean closer, he didn’t hesitate. “My Edmundo as well.” She whispered, and placed a kiss on the young firefighter's cheek, patting his other cheek. “I expect to see you at dinner for New Year’s. No argument.” She spoke with absolute authority and left no room for argument. Buck nodded._

_Maddie laughed as she walked over to her brother, pointing at the mistletoe above her brother’s head. “She got you.” His sister grinned, kissing her brother’s other cheek before carefully wiping away the lipstick from her brother’s cheek. He turned bright red as she did, earning another laugh from his sister._

_“Look Daddy,” Christopher had said, causing Eddie to look up just in time to watch Abuela whisper something to his best friend and give him a kiss on the cheek, the look of absolute shock on his Buck’s face. Abuela’s lipstick left a bright mark on the younger man’s pale skin. Seeing his family get along so well made something in Eddie’s chest feel warm and a smile spread across his face._

_“The mistletoe got him, so Abuela had to give him a kiss.” Christopher giggled. Eddie blinked a few times, letting Christopher’s words register in his brain. He glanced up at the mistletoe above his best friend. Eddie could feel his heart rate pick up. He fought back the urge to take advantage of the fact Buck was under the mistletoe, maybe then he could show his best friend how thankful he was for everything he had done. But he shook himself. Did he really want to go over and kiss his best friend, in front of everyone they knew to thank him? Eddie was drawn out of his thoughts when they called everyone to the table. Without even thinking Buck had taken the seat on the other side of Christopher. He remembered catching his best friend’s gaze over Christopher’s head and Eddie had felt like his heart was too big for his chest. The feeling only got stronger as he watched his son unwrap the gift he’d gotten from his Buck. It was already his son’s new favorite toy. Watching his best friend kneel down and helping Christopher open his gift, even knowing that Buck had helped arrange the entire party so that their family could be together filled Eddie’s heart with warmth and made his stomach flutter._

It hit Eddie like a brick as he lay there in his silent bedroom. Their family. Buck was family, had been for a while, and that feeling Eddie had, that could only be love. Love, that was what had been fluttering in his stomach and tugging at his heart. It was stronger than anything he’d ever felt before. He rubbed at his chest. He was in love with his best friend. That was why he’d wanted to take advantage of that mistletoe over Buck’s head. Oh wow, he had not had enough sleep for that sort of epiphany.

Eddie had waited inside the truck bay for Buck to come in for his shift. He’d made up his mind. He may not be able to give Buck a gift that could rival the one he had given him by giving him Christmas with his son, but Eddie did have something to give. He followed the younger man into the locker room when he got there, under the guise of making plans for New Year’s dinner at Abuela’s house. When it was just the two of them in the locker room. Eddie decided it was now or never.

“Listen, Buck…” Eddie started, his heart pounding as Buck turned to him at the clear shift in tone. Eddie nearly swallowed his tongue. Now that he realized he was head over heels for his best friend, the way Buck looked up at him from where he was buttoning his shirt drove Eddie wild. He had to force himself to focus. “Nothing I can give you could ever match up to how much you putting that party together means to me. Getting to spend Christmas with Chris, it was the greatest gift anyone could have given me.”

Buck smiled. “Well it wasn’t just me.”

“I know, but if you hadn’t been so worried about making sure Christopher was happy for Christmas, I’m not sure all that would have happened.”

“I’m sure Athena would have-,” Buck started to argue, downplaying his whole role in it all.

“That’s not the point,” Eddie gripped the shoulders. “My point is, you gave me the best Christmas gift I have ever gotten. You made my son happy. You took what would have been the worst Christmas of my life and made it one of the best moments of my life, second only to Christopher being born. I tried so hard to think of a way to thank you, to show how much that means to me. I could only come up with one thing.”

“What is it?” Buck asked.

“Me.” Eddie leaned in slowly, giving Buck enough time to pull away if he didn’t want this. He hadn’t expected Buck to meet him half way.The kiss was gentle and sweet.

“Not going to lie,” Buck smiled, his voice breathless, “That was way more than I expected for a gift.”

Eddie couldn’t help but laugh he gave Buck another kiss before pulling away and heading towards the door. “Come over after your shift, maybe then you’ll get the rest of it.”

“Really?” Buck grinned. “Wait, do you mean…Hey! That’s not fair. You can’t just say something like that and leave.” The younger firefighter slammed his locker and ran after his boyfriend. That was what they were now. Oh the rest of the 118 was going to have a field day when they found out. Which wouldn’t be long, the mistletoe was still hung there, waiting for them. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to send me prompt on tumblr @sortofanobsession


End file.
